Location: San Francisco
Day 1 - 30 Apr 2019
Anderson
Content: We chose to drive from San Francisco to Anderson. Thankfully, to our surprise, the drive wasn’t as brutal as we were expecting and took us roughly 4 hours with minimal traffic.
Location: Anderson
Day 1 - 30 Apr 2019
Best Western Anderson Inn
Content: We decided to stay here and at less than $100 a night (inclusive of free breakfast!), we couldn’t have been more pleased.
Location: Anderson
Day 2 - 1 May 2019
Driving to Lassen
Content: We recommend taking a car-full of snacks with you as there are NO places in the park to get a proper meal.
Location: Mineral
Day 2 - 1 May 2019
Kohm Ya-mah-nee Visitor Center
Content: We stopped by the Kohm Ya-mah-nee Visitor Center to fill up our water bottles and make a bathroom pit stop as the facilities are pretty lacking in the park.
Sulphur Works
Content: Our first stop along the Main Park Road was Sulphur Works – an active hydrothermal area. Walk over to the bubbling mudpot and steaming vents, the smells aren’t too pretty but seeing this impressive mudpot is not to be missed!
Emerald Lake
Content: Next up, the beautiful Emerald Lake! We were surprised to be one of the only visitors here, as the water is just so lovely for photography! A short stop, but definitely worth it, and right off the side of the road.
Bumpass Hell Trail
Content: Bumpass Hell Trail, a three mile round-trip hike leads to a boardwalk full of all kinds of crazy things. Here we listened to bubbling mudpots, watch the steam escape from a fumarole (named Big Boiler), marvel at the unusual multi-colored soil, and watched the boiling pools of water.
Lake Helen
Content: Once we had our fair share of fumaroles, sulphur, and nasty rotten-egg smells, reward ourself with a lay down at Lake Helen.
The Devastated Area Interpretive Trail
Content: The Devastated Area Interpretive Trail explains the 1914-1917 Lassen Peak eruptions on signs throughout, as well as show some amazing views of the destruction as well. The “trail” is only a half mile, and can be done in 30 minutes or less.
Manzanita Lake
Content: End the long first day of your weekend in Lassen at Manzanita Lake, where you could easily spend hours!
Location: Shasta County
Day 3 - 2 May 2019
Burney Falls
Content: First stop of the day was Burney Falls. North of Lassen Volcanic National Park we found McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, which is a little over an hour from Anderson.
McCloud Falls
Content: The next area, McCloud Falls, is a series of three waterfalls which you can either hike between on one long path OR by a short drive to each. This trio of waterfalls is for the lazy ones, and an absolute must-do when in the area.
Mossbrae Falls
Content: Mossbrae Falls an another gorgeous, not widely well-known waterfall in the middle of nowhere.
Castle Lake Road
Content: We drove 20 minutes over to Castle Lake Road got fantastic views of Mount Shasta with the city beneath it instead.
Drakesbad Guest Ranch
Content: Meat and veggie meal option for dinner with salad and desert. Delicious food and a soak to follow, with full moon rising and filling the valley.
Location: Shasta County
Day 4 - 3 May 2019
Sundial Bridge
Content: Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, this functional work of art is pretty remarkable. We walked across the bridge over Sacramento River and took a bunch of photos on the glass block walkway and soaring white tower and suspension cables.
Shasta Dam
Content: The architecture is pretty grand, and the Shasta Dam is the second largest in the states after the Hoover Dam in Nevada.
Shasta Lake
Content: We decided do some lounging before heading home, we checked out Shasta Lake. Lots of boating options, places to chill out, and just a beautiful coastline to enjoy for a bit to end our weekend in Lassen National Park.
Location: San Francisco
Day 4 - 3 May 2019
San Francisco
Content: